The George Washington Masonic Cave, which should be a shrine and a memorial to the country’s first great patriot and everything he stood for, is currently abandoned and neglected.
A place that should be honored and registered as a national historical site is instead filled with graffiti (although admittedly, GW was the original vandal here) and trash.
Clearly the Cave needs to be rescued and preserved before it is too late.
Here are some of the pictures showing the current state of the Cave (May 2018).
IS THERE HOPE?
The GW Masonic Cave deserves to be rescued. It is a small but important part of the history. The rescuing process would entail 3 main scopes of work:
PHASE 1: Securing the Cave
This would entail installing a high security and bat friendly gate/door to keep vandals out. Security camera installation could also be considered. There are manufacturers that specialize in such doors, and just as an example it might look something like this:
PHASE 2: Cleaning up the Cave
Help from volunteers, possibly even local Masonic lodges, to haul out debris and attempt to removed wall graffiti using eco-friendly methods.
PHASE 3. Preserving the Cave
This would entail registering the Cave property as a state and/or federal historical site, possibly installing a marker or plaque outside the Cave, and possibly even placement of granite slabs inside the Cave that describe some of its history, quotes from GW, or possibly a bust of GW. Archeological excavations would also fall under this phase. Given the uniquely historic nature of the carved inscription – “G Washington 1748” – and the fact that it slowly being eroded away (as to be expected in a limestone cave), consideration should be given to ways to slow down or halt this process.
